1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to therapeutic wraps for applying heat and cold to the human body.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
It has been known for many years that the application of heat and cold to the body has not only many therapeutic benefits, but is also very relaxing to the individual to which it is administered. Generally speaking, if a user has recently been injured, it is preferable that cold and not heat be applied to the body to insure that swelling does not occur. After this initial period of time, heat can then be applied to the site of the injury, or for relaxation purposes.
Initially, heat was applied to the body of a user utilizing a hot water bottle. The bottle was usually manufactured from plastic and would be filled with hot water and then applied to the body of the user. However, as can be appreciated, the exterior of the hot water bottle would become moist and would be unpleasant to the user. Additionally, heat retention would only be for a short period of time. If cold were to be applied to a portion of the body, ice cubes would be inserted into a receptacle and then applied to the body of the individual. Similar to the hot water bottle, this was an inefficient and unpleasant way of administering cold to a portion of the body.
Subsequently, a number of devices were developed to improve the manner in which heat and cold are applied to the body. Some of these devices are embodied in various patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,326, issued to O""Brien et al, Design Pat. 342,790, issued to Zona and Design Pat. 433,757, issued to Jordan.
The patent to O""Brien et al describes a suboccipital pillow for applying hot and/or cold treatments to the neck and the suboccipital areas of the body. The pillow is generally of a crescent shape, one side of which is fitted with a lightly insulated pocket and the other side of which is fitted with a heavily insulated pocket into which crescent shape gel packs can be inserted after they are either heated or chilled. The pillow must be deep enough to be of sufficient depth to accommodate the length of the neck of the user in order to reach the posterior base of the skull or occiput. This particular design would be uncomfortable to be utilized for a long period of time and also would not cover the upper chest muscles, particularly the pectoralis minor muscles. These muscles, when tight, can overstretch the upper back muscles, thereby causing pain in the upper back.
The design patent to Zona illustrates a therapeutic neck wrap having a plurality of channels which it is assumed, are provided with a gel pack to which heat or cold are initially applied. However, the design of the Zona patent would prevent it from fitting sufficiently close to various portions of the neck and shoulder thereby preventing the most beneficial method of applying heat or cold to these portions of the body.
The design patent to Jordan illustrates a temperature packet presumably applied to the neck or shoulder of a user. However, the particular design of the Jordan temperature packet, similar to the suboccipital pillow issued to O""Brien et al would not provide enough surface area directly over the particular muscles that heat or cold should be applied.
In addition to the aforementioned U.S. patents which constitute a representative sample of the prior art, and do not cover a sufficient portion of the body to be effective in use, several additional prior art patents utilize a gel pack for heating and cooling. However, if these gel packs are overheated, they could place the user at risk if not properly insulated before use, or cooled to a more appropriate temperature. Additionally, if these gel packs provided in the prior art wraps are torn or punctured, the caustic chemicals provided therein could harm the user.
Several U.S. patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,953, issued to Sabin et al; U.S. Pat. No. 6,099,555, issued to Sabin and U.S. Pat. No. 5,948,010, issued to Adamec, have addressed this problem. For example, Sabin ""555, describes a gelling cold pack, which could utilize starch, such as rice. Sabin et al ""953 describes a self-regulating heat pack which also utilizes a starch, such as rice. The patent to Adamec illustrates a therapeutic heat application device employing a natural filler material which could be rice. However, these patents do not describe or illustrate a heat pack containing the appropriate filler material which both retains heat or cold for a reasonably long period of time, as well as being aromatic.
The present invention addresses the insufficiencies of the prior art by providing a therapeutic wrap which retains heat for a reasonably long period of time, as well as having the ability to be easily and comfortably placed over a number of areas of the body to which therapeutic heat would be applied very efficiently. The therapeutic wrap, according to the present invention can also be used to cool a particular portion of the body. The present invention is in the form of a shoulder wrap, as well as a neck wrap, designed to cover various portions of the user""s body so that the various wraps are held close to the neck and shoulder muscles being treated with hot or cold therapies. Each of these wraps contain a plurality of narrow channels into which Basmati rice and herbs are inserted to act as a soothing agent applying heat and cold to the body. These narrow channels keep the rice from shifting, thereby holding it close to the neck and shoulder muscles being treated. When heated, the rice provided in the channels of both the shoulder and neck wraps would convey moist heat to the body for 25-45 minutes, depending upon the degree of original heat. This is safer therapy than using a heating pad as it gently decreases the heat as the pack cools, thereby reducing the risk of burns.